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In our series ‘That Special Bond’, we highlight what this sport truly is about; the unique connection between horses and humans. Speaking with some of the top names in the sport, we learn more about the horses that have shaped careers, fulfilled dreams – and sometimes even broken hearts. 

This time around, WoSJ speaks with Sweden’s Malin Baryard-Johnsson to discover that it was one single jump that started her successful partnership with Butterfly Flip and that H&M Indiana made Malin doubt her abilities. 

“I would have to say Flippan, both because she at the time was one of the best horses in the world, but also because she was a horse that suited me perfectly,” Malin says when looking back at which of all her incredible horses has meant the most to her during a long and successful career. 

 

With Butterfly Flip (Robin Z x Moderene, breeder Kristina Larsson) – nicknamed Flippan – Malin jumped to team silver for Sweden at the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004, to team silver at the World Equestrian Games in Jerez in 2002 and to team silver at the European Championships in Arnhem in 2001. Butterfly Flip competed at five World Cup finals and finished third in the final in Las Vegas in 2003. The two also competed at the Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000, at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen in 2006 and at the European Championships in Donaueschingen in 2003 as well as in San Patrignano in 2005. In 2003, Malin and Butterfly Flip were crowned the world’s best horse-and-rider combination. 

“I started to ride Flippan when she was six. It was Thomas Wilhelmsson that told me about her, so we went to try her and it was a disaster,” Malin laughs. 

When I first tried her, I really couldn’t find anything positive about her and I thought that it would never work out.

"Nevertheless, I decided to jump the combination we had built one last time. We made it bigger – around 1.30m – and all of a sudden, she gave me a jump. While she was totally unrideable and uncontrollable, that one jump out of the combination made the whole difference for me. Thanks to that jump I decided to take her home to try her out further.”

“From the day Flippan came home to me, she was fantastic! Quite early on, I realized that she was something special,” Malin tells. “Even though I didn’t jump that big with her in the beginning, she jumped everything so easy."  

She ended up having a long career; she jumped her first Grand Prix as an eight-year-old and won her last 5* Grand Prix when she was 17 – and in between we were crowned the best horse-and-rider combination in the world. 

"She was extremely special and a fantastic horse," Malin continues. "We connected very quickly, much because she was the ultimate horse for my riding. I could not tell her what to do though, then she would get tense and sensitive. I had to ask, be calm, and find my way with her. When riding her, the quieter I could be, the better she was. She got very sensitive if I gave too much leg or got too strong in my hand. I had to read her, which I like to do – as I like to sit still when riding.”

“Flippan was very much a mare. She had strong opinions, but at the same time she was very sensitive,” Malin continues. “She was normally really sweet, but if something didn’t suit her, she got grumpy. She loved to be cuddled, but if you walked past her box, she would try to bite you and if you didn’t know her, she was not a horse you happily walked up to.”

“Flippan was only about 1.63 but had a huge heart,” Malin smiles. “She might not have had the best jumping technique, but she had the capacity, the elasticity and the mind that made her as good as she was over so many years.”

“The money maker is without doubt Indie; she has been very successful on the highest level over the last years,” Malin says about her current super star H&M Indiana. “Flippan might have won more classes during in her career, since she was in the top sport for so long, but it is so much more money in the sport today and Indie is not done yet.”

 

With Malin, H&M Indiana (Kashmir van Schuttershof x Animo’s Hallo, breeder Chloe Ruys and Christophe van Turt) took team silver at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon in 2018, team gold at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021 as well as team gold at the World Championship in Herning in 2022. 

“I definitely have a special bond with Indie as well. She is so special," Malin says.

She is the best horse I ever had and probably will ever have. Maybe also the most difficult horse I ever had, and hopefully ever will have.

“It was Charlotte Söderström from Stuteri Arch who bought Indie, and asked if I wanted to ride her – which I definitely wanted,” Malin tells. “However, I didn’t know how difficult it would be, or how wild Indie actually was."

If Indie would have been my own horse, I might have given up along the way – that is how difficult it was.

"Luckily, she is Charlotte’s horse, who has been behind me all the way,” Malin tells. 

“I have always felt that Indie has a huge capability, even during the most difficult years with her,” Malin continues. “However, with Indie, I started to doubt my ability. I’m small, skinny and I don’t ride with strength, so it is all about the cooperation with the horses and to get them to understand me. With Indie, it was hard to find a way for her to understand me and it was also very difficult to understand her. It has taken a huge amount of patience and thinking to get our partnership to where it is today.” 

“It took a long time before all the pieces fell into place for Indie and me, but when they finally did, she became remarkable – totally unique,” Malin says. “Even now, when she turns into her most difficult self, she is always good. What she wants most of all is to jump clear. Of course, Indie can also make a fault, but it is very rare. She has a capacity like no other horse I have ever ridden. Indie is not always sane between the jumps, but when she is at the jump, she has a phenomenal cleverness on how to get over it.”

“Indie is the strangest horse I have, but at the same time the kindest horse," Malin continues. "There is nothing bad in her. Even when things go wrong, and I don’t understand her at all, she never gets upset. She always wants to do well, even if she sometimes doesn't want to do it the right way. She has a huge heart – but sometimes she just thinks differently.”

“In Indie’s case, you can really see how important it is with patience. However, I think that with the really good horses it is often like that as many of them are a bit special. And Indie is fantastic, she is one of a kind,” Malin says.  

“This is a difficult question,” Malin says, thinking. “I haven’t sold any horse that I feel like I shouldn’t have sold, and I didn’t really lose anyone due to injury either. You might think I would say Räven (Reveur de Hurtebise by Kashmir van Schuttershof x Capricieux Des 6 Censes, breeder Siraux), and even thought I really liked him and it would have been cool to have kept him, his sale changed my economy and made a big difference for my entire business and my future investment in the sport – so I never regretted selling him. I have made one sale like this, and it was good, and it was needed. On top, he got a dream life with Kevin Staut – one of the best riders in the world – so how could I be sad about the decision I made?”

14.03.2023 No reproduction of any of the content in this article will be accepted without a written permission, all rights reserved © World of Showjumping.com. If copyright violations occur, a penalty fee will apply.